Equilibrium
by TheTangyMango
Summary: "Heiwajima Shizuo left Ikebukuro and came to New York in an attempt to escape the life Orihara Izaya had managed to destroy, only to arrive and find that he was waiting there for him to destroy it again." This is the story of two men that had unimaginable power over each other, but none over themselves. Takes place after the events of the anime. SHIZAYA - ShizuoXIzaya - Yaoi
1. Chapter 1: Beautiful Coercion

**[ CHAPTER 1 ]  
**

**[ BEAUTIFUL · COERCION ]**

**Author's note:** This will be my first fan fiction in the Durarara! category. I do hope I can entice you into reading this story that I have quite proudly concocted.

Also, if you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

Somehow, no matter how hard he tried, Shizuo still could not believe his eyes. He had been staring at the man staring straight back at him for nearly 10 minutes now, and he still could not argue with the conclusion that this man's appearance was simply a cruel figment of his troubled imagination. Even when he had moved to a new continent, a new country, a new city, he was still there. He was _always_ there and always watching. He was always waiting for some small piece of his plan to click into place, so he could spring to a high rooftop and gaze bemusedly at the trouble he stirred below. People began to stop and stare as they walked by the two men seemingly sizing each other up, when in reality all they were attempting to do was confirm that they had not somehow consumed a large amount of hallucinogenic drugs without knowing and were just seeing things. Eventually, the silence was broken between the two by the short, disbelieving laughter of the darker haired one.

"…ahaha…" was the quiet sound that fell carelessly from Izaya's lips. The small crowd that had now gathered to watch the men turned their gaze to the blonde man in the hopes of a response, and to their displeasure, no response came. The rivals continued to stare.

"Izaya…" said the blonde man eventually, in an uncharacteristically quiet manner, gripping tightly on the handle of his travel bag.

"Shizu-chan" the black haired man delivered a curt reply. His rival winced at the nickname.

"Why are you here?" Shizuo asked almost silently, and yet Izaya could still understand him perfectly clearly. Perhaps it was because they knew each other so well, or perhaps it was because they hated each other so much. Either way, Izaya took a moment to formulate his response.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, actually." The dark haired man chimed in his typical whimsical manner, setting off a chain reaction of memories in Shizuo's mind. The good times mixed with the bad times, like a poorly stirred bitter sweet cocktail with an irrevocably sour aftertaste. Suddenly, and without any warning whatsoever, Shizuo lunged toward Izaya with invisible speed, and in a swift movement managed to successfully grapple the slightly smaller man and hold him up so that his feet dangled loosely beneath him. Izaya grinned that beautifully sickening grin.

"I never thought you'd hold me like this again…" the dark haired man sung loudly before dropping his voice to an immensely lower volume and finishing his sentence: "…you bastard." Shizuo gritted his teeth, and tightened his grip on the collar of Izaya's T-shirt.

"Why are you here? What happened to Ikebukuro?" Shizuo demanded, shaking Izaya violently and making the crowd around them gasp loudly. Izaya's grin still spread widely across his face, stubborn and unmoving.

"I just missed you soooo much, Shizu-chan." The darker haired man said melodically, reaching his hands up to grip the hands that held the cuff of his shirt. Shizuo didn't buy it, and shook Izaya once more.

"Stop your games, Izaya! Why are you here? Tell me!" the blonde man screamed into his rival's face and still his grin did not falter, and still he did not flinch.

"Why don't we go and talk about in private, Shizu-chan? You're stirring a larger scene than I could have anticipated you would." Izaya maneuvered his face within inches of Shizuo's, achieving the frantic breath of the blonde haired man's frustration on his face.

"You know I won't do that." Shizuo whispered under his breath. Izaya raised an eyebrow, his grin still painfully intact.

"Oh? And why is that?" The darker haired man asked quizzically in mock confusion.

"Because you'll just find a way to get me into your bed for the hundredth time." Shizuo whispered, staring at his shoes. Slowly, Izaya was lowered to the ground. The darker haired man brushed off his clothes lightly before gazing at Shizuo inquisitively. The blonde haired man continued to stare at his feet. Even though Izaya was the master of predicting the actions of human beings, he still could not always be right about his own fate, and he had to admit that the bustling streets of New York was the last place he ever expected to see his rival of the past. Izaya had considered what would happen if they were to meet once more, and the state of Shizuo's character was also something he had not anticipated. The fact that the blonde haired man could no longer stare his rival's eyes down anymore with that ridiculous strength of his, the fact that the legendary Heiwajima Shizuo that used to stir fear in the hearts of anyone unlucky enough to piss him off, was standing completely broken in front of him was nothing short of astounding.

The crowd that had gathered to watch their reunion slowly dispersed when it was quite clear no more action would take place. Izaya gazed into Shizuo's eyes that did not gaze back, and made some mental deliberations. Shortly, the smaller man placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder, causing him to discontinue his staring contest with the floor and finally return his gaze. They searched each other's eyes, faced with the debate they never thought they'd have to experience ever again: was this love, or was this hate? Izaya sighed.

"You're fresh off the boat, right? Figuratively speaking, anyway." the darker haired man asked pointing to Shizuo's abandoned travel bags, a more serious tone decorating the voice escaping his mouth. Shizuo nodded. "Alright. Come on, then." And with that, Izaya spun on his heels and began heading in the opposite direction. Against all his inner orders not to go with the man that turned his life upside down, Shizuo's feet moved of their own accord, picking up his travel bags and following after his old rival.

···

His keys clattered into a keyhole, and Izaya opened the door to his luxurious apartment and stood aside to let Shizuo pass him through. The blonde man instantly cursed himself after stepping through the archway, but there was no turning back now. The darker haired man moved to shut and lock the door, before taking his shoes and jacket off and tossing them lazily onto a coffee table that stood beside the front door. Shizuo reluctantly shrugged off his own jacket, and placed it instead on the coat rack that stood against the hallway wall, and placed his shoes underneath it and his bags next to them; marking himself very clearly as a guest and nothing more.

Izaya watched his rival do this from his state-of-the-art kitchen whilst he filled a pot of coffee, and set it off to brew. He then leaned against the island counter and gazed at Shizuo curiously. Shizuo glared back, irritably.

"So. Have you figured out a plan to get me out of my clothes and under your sheets yet?" Shizuo asked bluntly. Izaya chuckled quietly, the grin that had momentarily vacated his face returning in a flourish.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd be halfway through sticking your tongue down my throat by now." Shizuo winced, and stared at Izaya blankly. "Kidding. If I didn't know you any better, Shizu-chan, I'd say you were hoping I say that I have thought of one."

"Shut the fuck up." The blonde man said casually, running his fingers through his hair and making his way toward the lounge set that faced the city-gazing windows. The darker haired man chuckled again.

Shizuo took a seat on the long and luxurious lounge suite, hanging his elbows over the back of the couch and staring contemplatively out the enormous windows. It didn't take much to come to the conclusion that Izaya was having just as much success being an information dealer in New York as he was in Ikebukuro, judging from the exquisitely furnished penthouse apartment Shizuo had been so willingly coaxed into entering.

There were two floors to the apartment, the other one being led up to by a mahogany spiral staircase. The floor he currently occupied was a large open-plan space, with the kitchen, lounge and dining spaces all in one elegant sweep. Off to his left, Shizuo saw a hallway decorated with two or three doors that most likely led to a bathroom, study and guest bedroom. He concluded that the open upper floor, shielded only by large sheets of glass for walls, was the place where Izaya slept himself (that is, if the demon was even capable of sleeping). The blonde man then made a mental note to never set foot on the last step of that staircase.

It was then that Shizuo also felt a pair of cold hands slide down his chest through the wide collar of his shirt, and his reaction was violent. Shizuo flung himself forward, rising to his full height before turning around and foolishly turning his back to the coffee table in the middle of the lounge suite which he proceeded to ungracefully trip over. His back crashed against the floor, expecting much more force than was met when he remembered the floors were a plush shag carpet. The clattering racket Shizuo had caused was swiftly followed by the shrill cackle of the owner of the apartment, who was bent over double in his fit of laughter. It didn't take long before Shizuo was back on his feet, and had Izaya's neck tightly in his grasp. Even when the darker haired man's life was literally in the hands of the blonde man he hated so much, the smile never wavered from his face.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" Shizuo hissed into Izaya's face, searching his eyes aggressively for some kind of motive or reasoning that he could understand. But the blonde man forgot that this was his arch nemesis he was trying to understand; a man with no morals and little to no sanity.

"You're funny to watch when you're on edge, Shizuo! And you're even funnier to watch when I know you secretly want to fuck me like there's no tomorrow." A balled fist smashed into his cheek for that comment, and he was flung out of Shizuo's grasp and across the room from the force of the punch. The darker haired man hit the wall and fell down onto the floor, leaning up on an elbow and covering his face with his other hand. There was a moment of silence, where the blonde haired man thought he had finally succeeded in shutting Izaya up for one moment in his life. But the silence was broken by the darker haired man's quiet chuckle. Fuming, Shizuo stormed over to the coat hanger, grabbed his jacket and travel bags and swung the door open, flying through the open archway.

Shizuo made his way to the elevator and punched the button to call the elevator several times in quick procession. It wasn't long before Izaya leaned out the doorway and yelled after him.

"Shizu-chan, you didn't even drink your coffee yet!" he sung loudly from the archway.

"Go to hell, Izaya!"

"You can run, Shizu-chan, but you can't hide from me. You'll be back!" Izaya yelled whimsically after Shizuo as he stepped into the elevator and pummeled the button for the ground floor. All he could think of was how much he had to get out of there; how much he had to get away from Izaya before he could pull him back into the chaotic underworld that was their ambiguous and turbulent relationship. He told himself; promised himself he wouldn't ever return to this floor once the elevator arrived at its destination. But a small part of him at the back of his mind disagreed with himself, argued with himself, and told him that this would by no means be the last time Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya saw each other.


	2. Chapter 2: Flame

**[ CHAPTER 2 ]**

**[ FLAME ]**

**Author's note:** Flashback time! I do realize that my retelling of events is not exact to the anime, but I tried to keep the story relatively intact while slipping in my own little events in between. This is a fanfiction so I think I have the right to fiddle around with the original plot, a little.

**Author's plea:** If you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

A dark haired teenage boy with a troublemaker's grin on his face sat at the very back of his English class at Raira Academy. Having deemed the lesson unimportant, along with the rest of his timetable, the boy stared fancifully out the second floor classroom window; observing the movements of the people outside. Tall and handsome for his age, it was no surprise that a dozen girls watched him as carefully as he watched the students roaming around the sports field outside. Orihara Izaya just recently celebrated his 17th birthday, and he could not really say that he felt any different. To many, his only remarkable feature was his passion for causing trouble.

Izaya's thoughts were suddenly pulled from his daydreaming and into reality when the sliding of the classroom door caught his attention. He turned his gaze toward the source of the noise; a blonde boy with deep brown eyes had entered the room and now stood at the front of the class with an uncaring disposition that was not unlike his own. The occupants of the classroom fell silent, while a wide and joker-ish grin spread across Izaya's face.

'_This should be fun.'_ Is what coursed through Izaya's mind. After asking the boy to introduce himself, the teacher sat down by his desk and waited for the unknown entity to speak. When he did speak, it was in a lazy and offhanded way; a way that said he was not as excited to be there as everyone else seemed to be about his arrival.

"My name is Heiwajima Shizuo. I hope to get along with you all." The unremarkable introduction was followed by the movement towards an empty seat which just so happened to be right next to Izaya himself. The blonde haired boy sat down in the seat. He kept his eyes forward, even though he was in fact aware of the pair of eyes staring at him bemusedly to his left. The class continued, and the interruption became a sudden distant memory to most. But to Izaya, the new addition to the seat next to him would not become a distant memory for some time, as the "new kid" intrigued him so.

It was a long while until the two destined rivals actually exchanged words with each other, and until it happened they were just barely classmates that saw the faces of each other on occasion amongst the day-to-day routine of everyday life. When it finally did happen, it was an explosive exchange for sure, although it began in a very unassuming manner.

···

Izaya pulled his jeans up, and redid the zipper. He grinned down at the girl who kneeled before him in the store closet, and she beamed back up at him, cleaning her face with a handkerchief she had pulled from her pocket. "Thanks, that was…satisfying." Izaya said in a business like fashion while he grabbed his belt off the floor and re-buckled it. The girl knelt down on the floor in front of him narrowed her eyes slightly, and looked a little offended. "What? It's a compliment." Izaya said, turning around to face the door and placing a hand on the door handle, before the girl tugged on his other arm.

"So…you'll date me now, right?" the girl said hopefully, rising to her feet and moving in close to the 17-year-old Izaya. He grinned widely at her before chuckling quietly.

"Was your name Haruko?"

"It's Hanako…"

"Yes. Hanako. Sorry to break it to you, but you weren't _that_ good. I have to admit that whatsername in class 3D that I had yesterday knows how to use her tongue way better than you do." Izaya said, his grin still intact. The girl's expression instantly fell, as a look of disbelief slowly spread across her beautiful features. "If you want to cry, then go cry. We're done here, and I'm bored of you now." Izaya then chuckled loudly before opening the door and exiting the store room. The girl ran out behind him, bumping him slightly as she went, covering her face with her blazer and tie. The dark haired teenager watched her as she went, the unmistakable look of amusement never leaving his face. He then turned around, intending to walk back casually to his next class when he bumped into someone standing in his way. He gazed up slowly and found Heiwajima Shizuo to be towering over him. Izaya's grin extended.

"Ohh, what do we have here? Skipping classes?" Izaya sung, taking a step away from Shizuo to avoid the uncomfortably close distance they had come to.

"I could say the same for you." The blonde boy grimaced, as though the arrival of Izaya in front of him brought a bad odor with it.

"Yes, you could, except I'm not the new kid. My teachers have given up on getting me to attend classes by this point." Shizuo rolled his eyes before speaking again.

"Well, at least I'm not bunking classes to get a blow job from some unfortunate girl." The darker haired boy laughed loudly at this. His lips soon returned to their normal mischievous grin, but his eyes had a suddenly darker tone to them.

"Oh, so you know about that? Have you been spying on me, Shizu-chan? Have you fallen in love with me?" Izaya then chuckled again, whilst Shizuo balled his hand into a tight fist.

"…what did you call me?" The blonde haired boy asked in a low voice, the threads of his temper being strained.

"I called you 'Shizu-chan', Shizu-chan. I think it suits you."

Snap.

Izaya finished his sentence just in time to dodge Shizuo's fist that was headed directly for his grinning face. "Ohoh! That was close, Shizu-chan. You nearly hit me!" he dodged another fist and this time took a step back. Shizuo's hopes of wiping the grin off of Izaya's face were dashed when he saw he had only succeeded in making that smirk double its original size. This served only to agitate Shizuo's already fragile temper, and he soon reached towards a trash can. Sensing a bit of abnormality in this school hallway confrontation, Izaya made an offhanded effort towards his flickblade, and readied it in his pocket.

Shizuo made swift work of picking up the trashcan and holding it over his own head, obviously preparing to throw it at his opponent. Izaya chuckled. "You're going to throw _that_? At _me_? Shizu-chan, I think you'll have to try harder than that." With a loud yell and clatter, the trash can was flung at Izaya. The dark haired boy just managed to miss the can speeding towards him by jumping to the right, crashing against the wall, watching the trash can hurtle down the hallway. Shizuo wasted no time in cornering the smaller boy, placing his hands aggressively against the wall on either side of Izaya's head.

"You annoy me." Shizuo said bluntly, his eyes keeping a steady and unyielding gaze with Izaya's.

"As do you, Shizu-chan." The darker haired boy replied confidently.

"Then what's stopping me from killing you right here?" The blonde boy asked rhetorically.

"Only the knife aimed at your gut." Izaya said, a toothy leer sliding its way onto his face. Shizuo narrowed his eyes before gazing downward. There was indeed a knife aimed at his gut, and it was pressing into the cloth of his blue blazer, threatening to tear the threads apart one by one.

"Tch." Shizuo cursed under his breath. Little did he know at that time, that if he were to actually be stabbed by that blade he would have survived very easily due to his unrealistically high tolerance for pain. But at the time this event took place, a sharp flickblade held by the very capable Orihara Izaya was a threat to be reckoned with. Shizuo took a step back, glaring defiantly at Izaya's face that he found so very irritating. Izaya's brow furrowed in mock sadness, while his smirk remained pasted to his face.

"Aw, Shizu-chan, that was the perfect opportunity to kiss me and you missed it." The dark haired boy just nearly dodged another fist that ended up flying into the wall. Shizuo hardly felt the impact, and just watched after Izaya as he slipped under his arm and skipped down the hallway, manically laughing on his way. The blonde boy gritted his teeth and had to stop himself from punching the wall yet again, as he had now made a small crack appear in the plaster work. He cursed under his breath, and then waited for a few moments before reluctantly travelling down the hallway from whence he came.

And thus the rivalry between Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya was born. What started out as a small and insignificant school hallway confrontation turned into a burning hatred for one another that only grew as the years went passed. As the two saw more and more of each other throughout their lives, the more the two discovered traits about one another that they learned to hate with a smoldering passion that would conduct the way they acted upon every encounter for the rest of their lives.


	3. Chapter 3: Withdrawal

**[ CHAPTER 3 ] **

**[ WITHDRAWAL ]**

**Author's note:** Some of you may find this a relatively long and boring chapter, but I assure you it's important for some necessary character development, so I hope you don't mind some 'uneventful' reading.

I received a review on my last chapter saying that they were surprised I chose for Izaya not to be a virgin. They were anonymous, and thus I could not reply to tell them how intriguing I found that. So I'll just say it here. I've tried to avoid reading other Shizaya fanfics because I don't want to subconsciously steal the ideas and writings of someone else, because I can sometimes tend to do that. So I was just as surprised to read that Izaya is often depicted as a virgin. Personally, I cannot imagine that with his conversation skills that he wouldn't be able to coax a few women into his bed before they started hating him with all their might. xD

**Author's plea: ** If you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

Shizuo's brain was busy with thought over his past. He left Ikebukuro and came to New York in an attempt to escape the life Izaya had managed to destroy, only to arrive and find that he was waiting there for him to destroy it again. It was unlike him to be so wary of Izaya, but for once in his life Shizuo believed he was making the right choice in leaving for New York. He had said goodbye to all the people he could consider friends; Celty, Simon, Shinra, Masaomi, Mikado, Anri. He wished them all a good life and left because he wanted to create a new life for himself, one where Izaya couldn't infect it like a festering wound.

And yet, it seemed the infection had spread to the U.S.A., and the nation would be burdened with Orihara Izaya working the back-alley business of the selling of information indiscriminately to customers of a questionable background, just as Ikebukuro and the whole of Tokyo was at one stage in the past.

Two years after the entire Dollars/Gold Bandannas/Blue Squares incident in Ikebukuro (which Shizuo later found out Izaya played a part in engineering), the city's most disliked information dealer seemed to have just magically disappeared into nothingness. Nobody knew where Izaya went after that, and not many people cared. Except, contrary to popular assumption, Shizuo. An anger like none before welled inside of Shizuo when he got wind of Izaya's disappearance, and he caused chaos and uproar all over Ikebukuro. The crisis resulted in many of his friends being hurt in one way or the other, and when it was all over Shizuo went into hiding. It became a miracle to see Shizuo out of hiding during the day, and even more so during the night, and he seemed to just keep to himself for a while until finally deciding to simply leave and go someplace else. That someplace else, he decided, was New York.

Shizuo sighed. A lot had happened in his life since he last saw Izaya, and much of it was _his_ fault to begin with. The fact that he was stupid enough to go into that man's living space once more sickened him. But he had to admit that he was in a worse position now seeing as he was sitting on a bench in the middle of a gigantic park at 12:00 at night, with his fully packed travel bags beside him, and he had nowhere to sleep. He suddenly stood up with a new determination, lazily grabbed the handles of his travel bags and headed out of the park and towards the road.

Even at this late hour, there was still a multitude of bright yellow cabs zooming past on the street, probably due to the fact that it was late on a Friday night and most people were spending it intoxicated with friends. Shizuo raised his arm into the air as an attempt to hail down a cab, and waited patiently for one to stop in front of him. A golden car eventually did, parking abruptly a meter away from him and waited for him to get in. He did so.

The cab driver adjusted his rear view mirror, and Shizuo saw his sullen eyes gazing into his from the reflection. The man said something in English that Shizuo didn't bother trying to understand. The blonde then leaned forward and spoke abruptly in his broken English: "Hotel." A wave of understanding washed over the driver's eyes, and he nodded, pulling away from the curb and heading towards what Shizuo hoped would be the nearest hotel if he was understood correctly.

The journey towards the hotel didn't take long, but Shizuo still managed to doze off even with all the bright flashing lights passing him by. But in retrospect, he was used to the city by now. He chose to move to New York because he thought it would be the only city that could match Ikebukuro's chaos that he had become so addicted to. In truth, he tried to live somewhere quiet and in the country, but the lack of noise and lights haunted him, and thus he decided he couldn't live anywhere _but_ the city.

The cab came to a sudden halt that jerked Shizuo out of his doze. He looked outside the cab window to see a gigantic sky scraper that looked a little beat down here and there, with a bright and beckoning entrance way that bid Shizuo to enter. The blonde thanked and paid the cab driver before getting out and heading inside. He booked out the cheapest room the hotel had, headed up and into it and tossed his jacket, bags and shoes in the small entrance hallway. He then made his way over to the creaky single bed and collapsed onto it, falling asleep within mere minutes.

···

Sunlight through a freshly cleaned window burned into Shizuo's cheek, forcing him to wake and wince from the blinding sunshine. He brought a hand up to his face and shielded his eyes before groaning and sitting up on the bed. He had no idea how tired he actually was the previous night, falling asleep on an unfamiliar bed without even changing out of his day clothes. He went into the tiny bathroom, washed his face and stared down his reflection.

It didn't take seeing Izaya's face for Shizuo to know that the previous night would not be the last time they crossed paths in this vast city. The blonde knew that sooner or later, he'd have to come face to face with the grin that haunted him once again, and he would have to battle his thoughts and fight for self control. Shizuo knew that Izaya knew his ultimate weakness: his lack of self control in all things. Be it emotional, physical or mental, if his body wanted to do something his body would do it regardless of how many times he told himself to stop. This was the only fatal flaw Shizuo spent the majority of his teenage and adult life trying to conceal from the notorious information dealer, but later found out it was a wasted effort since Izaya had known it since their very first confrontation.

Shizuo spat into the sink and sighed. Izaya's undeniable intelligence was part of what made the blonde hate him so very much; the fact that no matter what he did, Izaya would always be one step ahead. Shizuo then pointed his index finger at his reflection, a new expression of resolve on his chiseled features.

"You're being weak." He said, pausing shortly before continuing, "Stop with this self-reflection bullshit and get out there and start that new existence you were so excited about." And with that, he nodded to himself, got dressed into new clothes, put on a pair of blue-shaded sunglasses and strode confidently out the front door.

···

With a little time, a little patience, and a little effort, Shizuo managed to find a job that needed doing by the end of the following week. A simple bartending position in a simple bar, but it was what he used to be best at, and it gave him the opportunity to wear the bartender uniform he felt so comfortable in once again. His English was more on step than before, and he was able to communicate what needed to be communicated to his future employer: that he could understand drink names and that he was good at serving them.

Three months later, he was still working the same job, and he was starting to get to know the regulars that came by. He found himself getting along best with a skinny 24 year old woman with short, spiky, bright red hair and dull grey eyes named Casey that began visiting the bar every Friday night, before frequenting it every other night so that she could spend some time with her favorite bartender. Shizuo had no doubt that she had grown fond of him and was interested in being more than just friends, as she constantly flirted with him throughout the time she sat at his bar. The blonde, however, returned the flirtation in only playful spirit, and did not plan on getting involved with her romantically.

Another customer he began to enjoy the company of was a friend of Casey's that she had brought with her one night. The tall, dark haired, dark eyed and pale skinned Thomas was an import from England, and arrived in New York around the same time that Shizuo did. The two could get along based on their shared experience of arriving in New York with nothing in their ownership, and having to stand up on their own two feet after being beaten down by life. Casey, Thomas and Shizuo had become quite the oddly matched trio that spent their nights as friends together at the bar that Shizuo tended so diligently. Neither of them knew of Shizuo's relationship with a certain information salesman who he had managed to avoid seeing for the past three months, and he planned to keep it that way.

It was a busy Saturday night when a couple burst through the closed door of the bar and shouted Shizuo's name from across the room.

"Shiiiiizuuuuuooooo!" they yelled in unison, their arms slung over each other's shoulders as Casey and Thomas made their ways across the expanse of the room and sat down on two bar stools in front of their new companion. A small smile tugged at the corners of Shizuo's mouth as he got out two beers from a refrigerator under the counter and sat them down on the surface in front of the duo. Casey clapped her hand to her cheek in mock astonishment.

"Shizuo, I'm disappointed in you. If you're trying to get a lady drunk then at least get her drunk off something fancy. I should slap you for not handing me a tall glass of champagne on the house!" Shizuo and Thomas laughed together at the serious tone in Casey's voice, and she pouted slightly before saying in a low voice, "You know if I were actually serious, the two of you would be dead by now."

"Yeah, yeah, Casey," Thomas sighed between chuckles, "save it for the men that are simply lining up to get with you." He gestured widely at the empty space behind Casey, and she punched him in the shoulder roughly.

"You can shut the hell up, Tom. I don't see you getting laid tonight." The fiery red head leered, grabbing her unopened beer and cracking the seal open.

"Oh, that's what you think. Unbeknownst to you, Shizuo and I are about to abandon you in five minutes to enjoy a quickie in the men's bathroom." Thomas said this so seriously that both Shizuo and Casey stared at him for a moment before he waved his hands defensively. "Bloody hell, guys, I was kidding. I'm not even gay." Shizuo's heart did a small twist before he laughed raucously along with Casey. He had also not yet told the two that he had once been seduced by a man, a seduction that could not have possibly been performed by any other man in the world. Shizuo then felt a sort of itch in his lungs. He waved over at another man that worked the bar.

"I'm going out for a smoke, cover for me." The blonde said, and received a thumbs-up in response. He gestured to the other two to follow him outside, and they did. Once outside on the bustling city street, Shizuo tapped a cigarette out of his pack and popped it into his mouth before offering the box to the other two. Casey took one, Thomas did not. The blonde flicked open his lighter and clicked a flame into life, bringing it to his cigarette until it began smoldering brightly, and then did the same to the cigarette between Casey's lips. Thomas watched the exchange intently before speaking ponderously.

"You know we've been hanging out at this bar for 3 months now, you don't think it's time we went somewhere new?"

"Where would we go? I mean we get free drinks here and all." Casey said, gesturing a thumb towards the bar behind her.

"Free? I never said anything about free. You just have an enormous tab that's been building up over time." Said Shizuo in the most casual tone he could muster, taking a slow drag from his cigarette. The other two looked at him expressionless for a moment. "I'm kidding." They both sighed sighs of relief.

"Anyway, we get free drinks here. Where else could you possibly want to go?" Casey said, breathing out a cloud of smoke into the air and watching it float away.

"I dunno. We could go to a club or something…this is the city that never sleeps, isn't it?" Thomas turned to observe the street on which he stood, obviously looking for an example of one such sleepless club.

"I've never suggested it because I've always gotten the feeling that this guy," Casey gestured to Shizuo with a nod of her head "isn't the clubbing kind of guy." The blonde didn't say anything, but she was partially right about that. A part of him simply disliked the idea of roaming around New York when he knew there was a chance he could meet _him_ at any time.

"What about it, Shizuo? What'd you do back home in Japan?" Thomas asked casually. Shizuo was staring blankly at the night sky when the question startled him.

"What?"

"What'd you do for fun in Japan?"

_Try to kill Izaya._

"I dunno, I'd stay at home mostly."

"Didn't that get boring though?"

_I was willing to go on forever if it meant he'd be dead._

"Not really."

"Do you miss that life?"

_I miss what it was before he came along._

"Sometimes."

"Do you miss him?"

Shizuo spluttered from the sharp intake of smoke he had just gasped into his lungs. When he recovered, he asked rather frantically, "What did you say?" Casey and Thomas both exchanged a concerned glance before turning back to their blonde friend.

"I asked 'Do you miss him', and really I was just trying to see if you were paying attention…" he trailed off, and Shizuo quickly answered.

"Oh. The question just caught me off guard is all." He took another slow drag from his cigarette and tried, but couldn't look the two in the eyes, and instead his gaze darted about the street.

"I get the feeling there's something you're not telling us, Shizuo." Casey said in a teasing voice, although Shizuo knew her true intention of prying for information.

"I said, your question caught me off guard is all." Shizuo reiterated, attempting to make his point clear that he did not wish to elaborate. Casey turned her eyes to gaze at Thomas with a troubled hint to her features, before turning back to Shizuo. She reached a hand up, which she was about to place on Shizuo's shoulder before he simply turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. "It's the end of my shift. I'm heading home." Casey and Thomas stared after him, an air of confusion and interest filling the space that now became larger with every step Shizuo took towards home.

"Shit." The blonde cursed, realizing that he had broken the cigarette between his fingers in half, and tossed its remains to the sidewalk. He reached into his pocket, grabbed his pack and popped another into his mouth. He brought the flame of his lighter to the end of the cigarette and watched it glow into life. He drew a deep breath from the cigarette, and split his lips slightly ajar so that the smoke wafted slowly out of his mouth as he walked.


	4. Chapter 4: The Bird & The Worm

**[ CHAPTER 4 ]**

** [ THE BIRD & THE WORM ]**

**Author's note:** Flashback time! I promise you things _will_ happen in time, but for now I want to keep some of you on edge and (figuratively speaking) dying for more. If these last chapters haven't done that then, I apologize. If your interest has wavered, then I apologize even further. But, since I am trying to create a proper in-depth story here rather than a context-less kinky one-shot (no offense, of course, I do occasionally read them myself), I need to create some character depth and suspense, and I hope those of you who are still with me can appreciate that. And personally, I think a little teenage Izaya & Shizuo fun is always good to have.

**Author's plea: ** If you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

It was a dreary Monday for the 17-year-old Heiwajima Shizuo. He sat lazily back in his chair while the rest of his peers diligently took notes down as their teacher spoke endlessly on about the American Cold War. His eyes fixated on the grey world outside, the window Shizuo was gazing out of one desk away from him began to become increasingly unclear with the buildup of rain drops on its once clear surface.

The seat that Orihara Izaya was designated to occupy was vacant that day, an occurrence of little import. The boy was probably off somewhere making dubious deals with members of the Yakuza or stabbing passersby in a dark and lonely alleyway, Shizuo thought. A small flare of anger swelled in his chest. The girls in the class didn't even seem to miss him that much when he wasn't there, as since Shizuo arrived in their class they had taken to cautiously gazing at him whenever Izaya was not around to do nothing and look good doing it. Hardly any of them would ever actually approach Izaya, as he was the sort of boy that all their mothers had warned them about. Also, the incidents where the troublemaker had misused his admirer's adoration and willingness were beginning to spread, and no girl wanted to be one of the many girls Izaya freely tossed away without a second thought.

At the end of the school day, the blonde was forced to stay behind in his homeroom classroom in detention. It was the result of throwing the trash can at a "fellow student" and vandalizing school property the previous week. The teacher overseeing his detention advised him to study for the test the next week before excusing himself to go perform some duty in the teacher's lounge. Shizuo ignored the comment, and simply rested his head on his desk, his gaze on the window never relenting.

He then heard the sliding door of the classroom open and shut slowly, and thinking it was the teacher having returned, Shizuo was about to make an effort to pretend like he actually cared about his school career. Then, his eyes fell on the entity that entered the class. It was none other than Orihara Izaya, dressed in a dark and oversized hoodie and skinny leg blue jeans. Shizuo glared at him as he strolled casually over to the teacher's desk. Apparently feeling Shizuo's irate brown eyes on him, Izaya turned to see if his suspicion was right.

"Oh, Shizu-chan!" a leer swiftly sprung onto the dark haired boy's face as he waved nonchalantly at the only other person in the room.

"Fancy seeing you here." Shizuo growled through gritted teeth. Izaya chuckled quietly, standing behind the teacher's desk with his hands resting on its surface.

"I'm guessing you're thinking, 'That bastard should be here instead of me'. Am I right, Shizu-chan?" The blonde exhibited no physical reaction, but his mind was becoming agitated suppressing the need to attack the blithe teenager. The darker haired boy chuckled quietly to himself before sliding his hand down to the first drawer of the desk, wrapping his hand around the handle, watching the movement of his own hand. "The only thing that girl saw was a monstrous blonde Shizuo throwing a trash can at an innocent, weaker Izaya."

"It's unfortunate that she didn't see you leaving a store room shortly after a girl in tears that just went down on you." Izaya's eyes slid up to look at Shizuo again, and they made eye contact. Blistering, excruciating eye contact. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the boys sized each other up, examining the targets of their own hatred. The moment was suddenly over when Izaya's gaze turned back to the desk drawer he had now opened.

"What're you doing?" the blonde asked in a monotonous tone, narrowing his eyes at the suspiciousness of his rival as he sifted through the contents of the drawer.

"I thought I'd make a little money, is all." Said Izaya, his voice dancing about the notes of a high octave whilst closing the top drawer and opening and searching the second.

"Selling what?" Shizuo could not stop his hand from clenching into a tight fist.

"This." The mischievous teenager said proudly as he drew a stapled stack of paper out of the drawer and showed it to Shizuo.

"That's...those are the answers for the test this Friday." The blonde whispered, his eyes narrowing further.

"Yup. _This_ is privileged information, Shizu-chan. And we live in a society where bad grades are almost punishable by death in some households." Izaya flipped the pack over so that the cover faced him, and eyed it smugly. Shizuo released a quiet scoff from his lips.

"And here I thought you actually had something in that head of yours other than plans to screw people over and get blow jobs."

"Oh, no. It's not for me, Shizu-chan. I'm intelligent enough to get good grades without even trying. The same cannot be said for the rest of Raira academy, however. And what's the harm in capitalizing on that?" Izaya closed the desk drawer and began to head towards the classroom door, tucking the pack of papers into his hoodie, before pausing and turning back to smirk at Shizuo. "What, you're not going to stop me?"

"Why should I? If you want to steal and sell test answers then go ahead. The sooner you leave me alone, the better." Izaya sighed and spoke with a disappointed flavor to his whimsical voice.

"I thought you were smarter than that, Shizu-chan. You do realize who the teacher will blame once he comes back into his classroom and finds his test answers gone when there's only one troublemaking student in the room, don't you?" in his lethargic state, it took Shizuo a few seconds before his mind clicked and he realized what Izaya was saying. He stood up abruptly, his chair squeaking along the floor behind him as he managed to move from his table to right in front of Izaya in mere moments. Shizuo then placed his hands on Izaya's shoulders and slammed him into the wall behind him, pinning him in place.

Izaya's cool persona wavered a little at the suddenness of his assault, but quickly returned as he looked up into Shizuo's furious eyes. "Is this the part where I scream 'Rape' at the top of my lungs?" The smaller boy whispered maliciously. The taller gritted his teeth as his eyes widened with frustration, and he pulled his fist back and readied it for a punch. Izaya quickly took advantage of his freed shoulder and grabbed Shizuo's other wrist tightly, twisting it into an impossible angle before leaping around and away from the blonde. Shizuo barely felt the bone fracture, and he spun around only to have a palm slam against his forehead and grab a chunk of his hair. Izaya used his new source of grip to perform a reversal of the position from before, forcing Shizuo backward until he felt the back of his head pound against the blackboard.

The darker haired boy's flickblade had made an appearance in his hand, and was brought promptly to the blonde's throat. The Cheshire grin that was sat comfortably on Izaya's face extended at the corners, as the blade sliced delicately through the skin on Shizuo's throat. The taller man reached a hand toward the smaller man's neck and grasped it firmly. Izaya then leaned his face in so close to Shizuo's that they practically exchanged breaths.

The sound of the sliding door opening, followed by the sound of a briefcase falling to the floor alarmed both the teenage boys, as they turned to see their homeroom class teacher that had returned was staring with his mouth agape, and total shock in his eyes.

···

After attending a short meeting with the headmaster, the boys were both warned that if they caused trouble on the school property again, their expulsion would be strongly considered. They were then both scheduled to detention together for the next two weeks every day after school, and were encouraged to 'work through their differences in a civil and hospitable manner'. The two teenagers headed home in a temper that day, less about getting caught and more for having to serve detention with_each other_.

The thought of spending anymore unnecessary time together made both teenagers sick to their stomachs, although Shizuo slightly more. Something about Izaya's constant grotesque smirk and inhumanity made Shizuo's insides squirm, and it made him just want to hurt the boy, to make him regret having ever smiled at all.

It was strange, in retrospect, that the relationship between these two people could have become so distorted in such a peculiar manner. It is often said that the line between love and friendship is blurred and unclear, but what can be said then for the line between obsession and hatred? Is this line just as indistinct, or did the pair simply defy all laws of logic for their relationship to reach the point it did?


	5. Chapter 5: To Strike the Match

**[ CHAPTER 5 ]**

**[ TO · STRIKE · THE · MATCH ]**

**Author's note: **I seriously enjoyed writing this chapter, so I do hope you enjoy reading it.

**Author's plea: **If you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

Shizuo was beginning to feel on edge. It had now been a total of 5 months that he had not seen Izaya; almost half a year. He could easily say he was glad that he hadn't yet come across him since his first day in New York, but the blonde felt that something wasn't quite right about it. In Ikebukuro, the two came across each other by accident more times than he was willing to count. Due to the nature of Izaya's work, he could generally be seen almost anywhere in the city at any time as he had many clients of many different calibers. And because Izaya always seemed to have a deliberate reason for everything, Shizuo couldn't help but suspect that the lack of sightings of the dark haired man was not mere coincidence. The uneasy feeling that a plan was slowly being put into effect crept from the back of Shizuo's mind, down his spine and into his skeleton - sending a shiver through his very bones.

Something that also shocked Shizuo, and would have shocked many people that knew him in Ikebukuro, was that he still had his job as a bartender. His English had improved greatly since his first arrival, and so had his temper. In moving to New York, all he was trying to do was start a life where he could attempt to conquer his temper and association with the city's dark underworld, and so far he seemed to be managing quite successfully to do just that. It was about 1 am on a Friday night, and the bar was still bustling even at the outrageous time. Then again, considering it _was_ the 'City That Never Sleeps', perhaps the blonde shouldn't have been surprised.

Casey and Thomas were drinking themselves into a stupor at the bar whilst Shizuo watched them bemusedly and dragged a cloth in circles across the bar counter surface. The blonde somehow found the nonsensical and slurred conversations between the two one of the most entertaining parts of his job, and he usually felt a morsel of disappointment when one of them passed out.

"I fucking…told you that he…he was riiight from the s-start." The red head declared, poking an accusing index finger roughly into Thomas' chest.

"He had…NO idea…that any of that buuullshit would be true in the end, he fucking…pulled it all rright out of his asss!" Thomas replied agitatedly, about to return the poking gesture before his hand collapsed suddenly into his lap, and he fell forward onto Casey. Casey managed to raise her hands up defensively just in time to catch Thomas and push him back into a balanced position on his seat. They then both burst into loud and clumsy laughter, reaching towards their drinks and pouring the last remaining contents of the cans gauchely down their throats.

Shizuo watched the two, a small smile attempting to make an appearance on his lips while he attempted to decide whether their previous conversation was about philosophy, politics or a fictional character. The door to the bar opened and closed as it had been doing for the duration of the evening. Thinking it was yet another already drunk party-goer looking to get drunker, he neglected to look up and continued to view Casey's failing attempts to cling desperately onto Thomas' shoulders. Shizuo then ducked under the counter to put the rag away.

"I'll have whatever they're having." An amused voice said from over the counter. But it wasn't just any amused voice. Shizuo froze, his hand in the middle of sliding the cabinet under the bar shut. He knew it. He knew it was too good to be true. The voice spoke again, a little louder. "Barkeep, I know you're under there." The voice laughed quietly. Shizuo had to contain the fury welling up inside of him, and he slowly released his grip on the handle of the glass sliding cabinet door, lest he accidentally broke it. He then gradually rose to his full height from behind the bar, and as his eyes slid over the bar counter, he confirmed his suspicions.

First he saw the unmistakable black V-neck shirt wrapped snuggly around a slender, lean torso. Then, he saw the trademark Joker-ish grin on a pair of closed thin lips. Finally, he looked into a pair of coffee brown eyes staring straight back, accompanied by impish inward slanting eyebrows.

"Yo, Shizu-chan." Orihara Izaya said contentedly. The nickname stirred both Shizuo himself and his two companions beside Izaya. Thomas, the now slightly more sober of the two, stared curiously at the new arrival to the bar, whilst Casey hosted no inhibitions on welcoming him with literally open arms. She swung her arms outward and spoke in a loud, slurred voice.

"Oooh! A fffriend of Shhhizuo's! Shizuo! I d-demand a drink for this ssssexy man!" Whilst Thomas and Shizuo winced (Thomas from the embarrassment and Shizuo from the sheer absurdity of the situation), Izaya laughed loudly and leaned an elbow on the bar counter. The man with the darkest hair there eyed Casey fondly whilst directing his comment to Shizuo.

"What a nice young lady you have here. Is she your girlfriend, Shizu-chan?" A larger smile tugged at the corners of Izaya's lips as he looked from Shizuo to Thomas. "Or perhaps yours?" Casey then spoke loudly before either of them could get a word in.

"Noo, apparently, they're toooo busy fucking each other to get with meee." The blonde's heart skipped a beat as the darker haired man turned to face him and raised an eyebrow in interest.

"You and the British boy, is it?" Izaya chimed, taking Casey's drink and sipping from it. "Now that _is _interesting." Thomas interjected, alarmed.

"How did _you _know I was British?" The blonde then spoke, too.

"And we are _not_ fucking." Thomas agreed.

"Y-yes, we're definitely not fucking." Even though Thomas had now spoken more than Shizuo had, it was the blonde that Izaya kept his eyes fixated on. Shizuo's breath caught in his throat slightly as he recognized the familiar look in Izaya's eyes: one that indicated that he was figuring out a course of action of some sort. His leer never wavered, and neither did his agonizing eye contact with his rival. At that moment, Casey had lost her balance in her barstool and her torso fell forward toward Izaya, and she reached out her hand and held onto his shoulder. The darker haired man simply stood there and smiled a moment before taking a step backwards, making the red head fall straight off her barstool and onto the floor. Several occupants of the bar turned around to look at the reason for the noise.

Shizuo pressed his thumb and index finger to his temples in frustration, before turning to Thomas and pleading with him quietly. "Take her outside and call her a cab." He nodded, giving Izaya a dirty look before getting off his barstool, and leaning down to help Casey to her feet. Thomas slung the girl's arm over his shoulder, and together they stumbled toward the door and out onto the street. The taller man stared at his shoes a moment before reluctantly switching his stare to the smaller at his bar. Izaya stared back, the wide smile now contented on his features.

"So," Izaya began casually, "they seemed nice." He didn't flinch when Shizuo banged his fist on the counter space in front of him.

"Get the fuck out of my life, Izaya. And stop coming back." Shizuo growled through gritted teeth, leaning over the counter, narrowing the space between himself and the smaller man. Izaya chuckled quietly, returning the movement so that he was mere centimeters away from the blonde's face.

"This time a year ago you would've risked your life for me. Are you sure you really mean that?" Izaya whispered through smiling lips, tucking two fingers in the space between Shizuo's collar and necktie, and slowly pulling the tie loose. The blonde swatted at the invasive hand, and the darker haired man backed off slightly before Shizuo took the opportunity to turn around and race into the bar's storeroom that contained another exit therein. A little taken aback by the sudden escape, Izaya leapt over the bar counter and followed Shizuo through the door, following a series of narrow corridors until he came to a door that had just been torn off its hinges. The informant smiled to himself before heading through the archway.

Izaya was searching the darkness of the alleyway when a fist flew into his right cheek, and he was projected about a meter from the sheer force of it. The darker haired man slid along the concrete floor of the alleyway before skidding to a halt and being quickly straddled by a taller man. Looking up, expecting to see a blonde, Izaya was surprised to see a chocolate brunette as his attacker. The man had soft and delicate features, and Izaya quickly processed that it was the man that took the red head away from the bar.

The darker haired man opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced when another fist swung into his other cheek. Both punches were painful and powerful, so much so that the Brit had the vague potential to match Shizuo's strength. Izaya spit out blood onto the floor that had collected in his mouth. Izaya's attacker grabbed the collar of his shirt tightly and pulled him up closer to his face.

"I don't know who you are, but I know that Shizuo is my friend, and you're clearly not his." The brunette threatened in a vicious whisper. Izaya managed a quiet chuckle and a reply.

"Oh, if only you knew how wrong you—" Izaya was promptly cut off by another punch to his right cheek. This was beginning to become a little more risky than Izaya was prepared to let it. He then brought out his flickbade from his pocket and put the readied blade to his assailant's throat. The Brit's expression contorted in alarm and he instantly got off and backed away from his target. Izaya kept his blade pointed at whom was now _his_ target, and his usual smirk slid its way onto his lips and made itself at ease.

"Obviously, you're only going to get in my way from now on. So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now." Izaya whispered darkly, his flickblade gleaming in the moonlight.

"Izaya!" The recognizable voice of Shizuo boomed from behind Izaya, and he turned his bloodied face followed by his lean body around leisurely to address him.

"Aww, Shizu-chan. Come to ruin my fun already?" Izaya said with mock disappointment, shrugging casually as though he hadn't just been threatening to stab one of Shizuo's friends.

"Thomas, go home." Shizuo said bluntly.

"But, what about y –" the Brit began to protest, but was shortly interrupted by a more defiant Shizuo.

"Go home. This disagreement has nothing to do with you, and it should be kept that way." Thomas' handsome face fell, as though he was offended by the fact that he couldn't defend himself or Shizuo against the information dealer.

"You two really _are_ fucking, aren't you?" Izaya interjected, looking from Thomas to Shizuo and back again with a look of amused disbelief on his visage. Izaya readied his blade as Thomas was about to make another move before Shizuo's voice was thrown down the alleyway.

"Thomas! Leave, _now_." Thomas looked at Shizuo determinedly, as though he were making sure he was making the right decision.

"Yes, Thomas. Leave the two grown-ups alone." Izaya said without looking around at Thomas, in a patronizing tone. Ignoring the darker haired man's input, Shizuo nodded at Thomas to signal him to leave. Thomas balled his fists and bit his lip once more, before nodding back and slowly turned to head through the back door of the bar.

The two were now alone in a dark alleyway after not having seen each other in 5 entire months. They glared at each other, and were most likely pondering what this meeting would most likely entail. One wondered if he would have the strength to resist, the other if he had the strength to persuade. The age old rivalry had come to yet another familiar stand-off. But this one was in the streets of New York, and between two men that could not decide if they could not live without each other, or could not live with each other.


	6. Chapter 6: Differences

**[ CHAPTER 6 ]**

**[ DIFFERENCES ]**

**Author's note:** Geez! I'm sorry, it's been ages since my last update. I've been rather busy with my life, I always tend to get unreliable with my updates.I don't doubt that some of you will _despise_ me this for chapter. I promise I'll make it up to you okay? ;3

**Author's plea: **If you have the time then please, please, please (!) leave me a review, because it motivates me to keep on writing and lets me know that my works are being read by _someone_. So, I hope it's not too much to ask, but please if you can spare the time and effort leave me a quick comment to tell me what you think.

**Warning: **This fan fic will contain **mature yaoi** in future, so if you don't like it then don't read it and turn your attention somewhere else.

* * *

It was the end of the school day on a Wednesday, and the 17 year old Shizuo was not much looking forward to spending yet another afternoon in Izaya's company. As the rest of their classmates cleared out the classroom, the two rivals hung behind and remained seated. The two had gotten used to the routine by now: after a short lecture and warning against misbehavior from their teacher, he left the room and closed the sliding door behind him, leaving the two teenagers alone. Most of the times they had been there, Izaya had gotten up and disappeared up until there was 20 minutes more for them to stay, and then he would return.

The darker haired boy sighed, and stood up gradually before sauntering slowly over to the window he sat next to. The blonde eyed his back suspiciously, as he watched his rival watch other people. Shizuo expected Izaya to leave the class then, as he normally did. But he did not.

"Enjoying the view of my ass, Shizu-chan?" Izaya said to the window, and it didn't take much effort to hear the smirk on his lips. Shizuo averted his gaze toward the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied in a low and aggressive snarl, tensing a pencil between two fingers and threatening to snap it in two. Izaya just chuckled quietly before he turned around partially so that he could look at the face of his enemy.

"You know, Shizu-chan. You've got so much anger pent up inside you that I can't help but feel saintly for becoming the one person you can focus it all onto." The troublemaker said quietly, his trademark grin proving apparent on his simple yet defined features. The blonde turned his head to look at the other boy then, and they scrutinized each other's faces for what felt like a few minutes.

"I can't stand you, Izaya." Shizuo said bluntly, his eyes darting between Izaya's. The smaller boy laughed loudly.

"I know you can't; and I can't stand you either. But did you ever stop to think that perhaps we were meant to be this way?" Izaya said ponderously, taking a casual step towards Shizuo's desk. Shizuo was too busy processing what his rival had said to be concerned about his movements.

"What do you mean?" Shizuo asked quietly, and Izaya grinned widely as though he had obtained just the response he wanted.

"Did you ever stop to think that we're like…yin and yang? Black and white, sun and moon, boys and girls. That we're meant to hate each other and yet, not be able to exist without each other?" Izaya said, keeping constant eye contact with Shizuo throughout his entire speech. He was now directly in front of the blonde's desk, leaning against the desk behind him. The taller man stared at him bewilderedly the whole time, not quite understanding what he was trying to get at.

In retrospect, Izaya here had spoken more sense and truth than he would probably ever speak again in his entire life. He and Shizuo _were_ like yin and yang, a balance of opposites. Opposites that never agreed with each other, but could never live without each other. But at the time he said this, it seemed an inappropriate comment that tried too hard to be philosophical in a perfectly mundane situation.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Izaya. Either shut up or leave, but don't bother me with your philosophical musing." The blonde then said flatly, making the decision to avoid Izaya's intense gaze and look outside the window instead. Izaya was silent for a moment before sliding into Shizuo's view, appearing in very close proximity to his face. Shizuo's head was about to move instinctively away from the proximity when a hand grasped the hair on the back of his head tightly into its grip. His face was now stuck mere millimeters away from Izaya's, and his breathing audibly increased slightly.

"Do you not agree that our meeting each other, and our rivalry is likely not as coincidental as it seems?" He inched slightly closer, so that their noses just barely met each other. At this point, Shizuo had the physical strength to easily escape Izaya's grip, but some other inner force he could not explain kept him rooted in his spot. He exchanged his stare from one coffee colored eye of Izaya's to the other. "Perhaps we're here, alone together in a classroom with nobody else around for a reason?" The darker haired boy whispered almost silently, the breath of his words dancing their way onto Shizuo's lips. The force of Izaya's gaze was stronger than Shizuo could have anticipated, and as his eyes tried to dart about the room to avoid it, they accidentally fell on Izaya's still smiling lips. The blonde swallowed loudly.

Slowly, but surely, Izaya's grin narrowed as he edged steadily closer, his lips slightly parted. Again, Shizuo's breathing audibly fluctuated in speed, and as much as he tried to escape this inevitable event, his self control (or lack thereof) egged him on, telling him that _this_ was what he truly wanted. Izaya's lips then just barely brushed against Shizuo's, and they both felt and heard each other's breath catch in their throats. The intensity of the situation and the heaviness of the atmosphere seemed to pool on their shoulders, as they gazed hazily into each other's eyes once more.

The sliding door to the classroom slid open, and in a split second, Izaya was back leaning against the desk in front of Shizuo. The once hazy gaze the darker haired boy held with the blonde was now casual, and his Cheshire grin had returned to his mouth as though it had never left. Shizuo's eyes darted from Izaya to stare at the teacher that had just entered the room, who slid a file onto his desk before looking at the two and smiling.

"It's good to see you two finally working out your differences." He said, looking approvingly from Shizuo's face to the back of Izaya's head. The darker haired boy turned leisurely around to face his homeroom teacher and grinned widely, speaking in a merry tone.

"It _is _good, isn't it?"


End file.
